Only Time Will Tell
by shortstopAKC
Summary: As Sword Art Online moves from Japan to North America, nobody knows the horrors that happened over seas. Alexander Bravo and his sister Victoria have been anticipating this game for years, and now it's here. They're in for the game of a lifetime, or death. Whatever comes first.
1. Only Time Will Tell

**Me: My first SAO story! This pretty much just an Intro... So don't complain about it being small!  
Kirito: Am I going to be in this?  
Me: No! OC's only!  
Asuna: Awesome! So... Who's the game master?  
Me: I was going to have Steve Jobs be the GM, but that idea was scratched instantly.  
Kirito: I just know this story is going to suck...  
Me: Shhhh! Anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

_2022, the game Sword Art Online in Japan. No one knows what happened then, but the game is now available in North America, and now I have it. I heard there was a bug where the players couldn't log out, but it was fixed. So I guess the game is ready for North American release. I, Alexander Bravo, will beat the game before anyone! A virtual reality game is just what I hoped would happen. Now it's a reality! I'm so glad. The year of 2034 shall go into the record book as the ye-_

"Alex! Wake up!" I snapped out of my daydream and looked up at the teacher above me. "Too late, man…" I looked at my friend, Junichi, I call him Jack. He wore the a black hoodie and a regular pair of jeans with a pair of black sneakers to match. Despite all of this, he had brown hair. He was from Japan, and moved away for reasons unknown. I didn't ask why, but I can sense it was something he wanted to keep private.

"Mr. Bravo, What were the last two sentences I just said?" The teacher asked. She was in her mid 50's and smelled like peppermints.

"Hinduism and Buddhism share many similar qualities, reincarnation is one of them. Mr. Bravo, what were the last two sentences I just said?" She gave me a nod and walked away.

"How do you do that?" Junichi asked. "You look all zoned out, yet you can hear everything."

"I'm just that awesome." I responded plainly. _When I get home, it's nothing but SAO from then to midnight. Until then… I'm going to be in school for a while…_ I spaced out again and started at the board. So it looked like I was paying attention at first glance. I hated school, but I didn't worry because it was only a matter of time before...

"Ale-" I interrupted the teacher in mid speech.

"They both originated around 3000 BC in the Indus Valley." I said, almost certain that's what she was going to say to me.

"Uh, no… I was going to tell you that your sister called… You're going home early…" I jumped out of my seat and smiled. I was glad that I was wrong. Jack didn't seem so fond of my departure as he glared at me though his dull eyes.

"I guess I'll be going then." I said trying not to sound too excited.

"Would you like to say instead?"

"No, Thanks!" I exclaimed while grabbing my things. I slung my bag on my back and barged out of the room. "Sword Art Online here I come!" I ran to the staircase and slid down the railing, landing clumsily on my feet and jetting towards the office. I peaked my head in and say my sister standing at a desk, signing the sign out sheet. After doing so, she turned to me and smirked. She was four years my senior, but she was down to earth. So it's like having someone my age taking care of me.

"Otouto! Ready for some from SAO?" She walked towards me and held out her fist. I nodded and fist bumped her.

"You bet, Nee-chan!" Judging by those sentence, you can judge our relationship. If I like it, she likes it. Anime, games, even movie. We're like twins.

"Lets hurry! Before the principal sees you out here and gets all suspicious. She knows me well and will figure out why I signed you out!"

* * *

Name: Alexander "Aleif" Bravo

Age: 16

Features: Curly, dyed brown hair, Blue eyes, Average build.

Height: 5"9

Hobbies: Lacrosse, Video games, and Eating

Description: If you were sent to find him, you'd notice him right away. His dyed hair stands out in a crowd as well as his baby face, with a pair of blue eyes that light up when he's happy. He's known as "The Bottomless Pit" (Jack is the only one to call him this) because of his high metabolism, he can eat practically anything.

Personality: People know him for being curious, trusting, honest, optimistic, and somewhat shy.

Name: Victoria "Violent-Vicky" Bravo

Age: 20

Features: Long blonde hair that reaches her spine. Blue eyes that can seduce anyone. She often sees this as a defect, but she's a… a… Pettanko…. *Gasp*

Personality: As as risk-taker, she's a natural born leader with a heart of gold.


	2. System Announcement

**Kirito: You have no life don't you?  
Me: No... It's not baseball season, so I've got nothing to do...  
Asuna: Don't be so mean!  
Kirito: I was just pointing out the obvious. Anyway, Alexander Bravo is a dumb name.  
Me: It's not my name, so you've failed! Bravo is the last name of my friend, and Alexander is just a cool name.  
Asuna: And Victoria?  
Me: I like that name! Anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

I laid on my bed with my phone held up to my ear and the Nerve Gear system next to me. I smirked as I talked Junichi about what homework I got from other teachers, but have no intentions of doing. After he gave the list of homeworks I told him about what I've been wanting to tell him all day.

"Man, I've got Sword Art Online NA edition." I said with a hint of righteousness. There was a pause, but then he finally spoke.

"That's not such a good Idea…" he said solemnly.

"Eh? Why not?" I asked questioningly. My sister laid on a makeshift bed out of blankets and pillows below me and waited for me to get off the phone.

"Let's just say it's so addictive, you can never leave… And when you do leave, you'll never feel the same ever again." Where did all of that come from all of a sudden.

"I don't play games that much, so I should be fine. And even so, I'm more athletic than I look and I've played my share MMOs before." He sighed as I heard him walking around his house. I heard creaking and boxes being moved around.

"Anything in the real world doesn't matter in that world… Remember that, ok?" I nodded as if he could see me.

"You just nodded, didn't you." He said bluntly. I nodded again. "Ugh, good luck." he hung up after that. I tossed my phone off somewhere and placed the Nerve Gear on my head.

"Ready, Violent Vicky?" I asked sarcastically. She chuckled and placed her Nerve Gear on as well.

"Let's just go, Aleif." She responded jokingly. "I might not know everything, since this is the final product, not the beta." I nodded and gave a thumbs up. I never did respond to that statement and turned the Nerve Gear on. I heard buzzing for a while, then a light finally came on.

"Link Start!" I logged in and submitted my character name and was then transported to the world of Sword Art Online.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online." Was the first thing I was greeted by. It was in a monotone voice and was male. I looked around, but failed to see the person who greeted me. But I did see Victoria. She looked exactly how she had looked in the real world. Now that I think about it, that is how she looks in the real world. Wow, the scanner is very detailed! And they even got the birthmark on her chin. That's too real.

"Otouto! Here!" I looked at her sharply and saw a blade shooting towards me. My first reaction was to dodge, but I remembered, this is a game. So I reached my hand out and caught it by the handle. "It's a beta blade. I got two of them, one for me and the other for a friend. I don't have friends yet, so I was forced to give it to you." I frowned at her instantly.

"Wow, thanks…" I said sarcastically. I looked at it saw it didn't look like the beginner blade I had in my sheath. So I quickly discarded it.

"Here!" She threw yet another object at me! It looked kind of like a rock, but it glowed… I watched it twirl until I reached out and caught in the palm of my hand. "These too!" She handed me a outfit icon.

"Huh? Why all of this?" I asked. I looked at my current clothing. It looked a better than the raggedy clothing me and my sister both sported. I tapped it and saw a GUI menu come up. I selected my gender and a color scheme for the clothing and watched as it changed before my eyes. I instantly chose navy blue as my color and equipped it. "Thank Nee-chan for th- What the heck?" I looked back at my sister who had changed her entire ensemble. She looked like a pro. She wore a purple and yellow outfit which gave her the appearance of a female knight.

"You don't like it?" She asked sadly. "Nii-chan! You made Imouto-chan feel bad!"

"You just completely flipped flopped our ages." I corrected her.

"Ah, did I really? That's not the subject here! I got these from a package I pre-ordered two weeks ago. Now to try it out on some field monsters!" She grabbed my wrist and rushed me out of the crowded area and to an empty green flowery area full of wild boar.

She let go of me and let me fall on to the grass. I laid sprawled out on the floor and tried to catch my breath.  
"Alright, Otouto. Go." I sighed and looked at her as she stared down at me. We looked at each other for a while. It felt like hours, but was only a few seconds.

"Fine." I stood up and stretched as if I was getting ready for a lacrosse game. Victoria looked at dully and shook her head before turning off and stabbing a boar in it's back. It disintegrated in pixels after one hit.

"Level one monsters… So easy…" I smiled weakly and drew my sword. I sighed and slowly approached a boar from behind. Victoria watch in boredom as I took the stealth route of attacking. "Just kill it!" She exclaimed. I jumped up and fell onto the boar, which seemed to be enraged now. It rammed it's horns into me without second thought. I was expecting just a force, but I actually felt the pain of a real horn surging through the neurons in my body.

"Agh!" I fell backwards and placed my hand on my head where the horn hit me.

"Oh that didn't hurt." Victoria said plainly as she defeated another boar. I stood up and confronted her so I can heal.

"It really hurt! I'm not lying!" I pleaded. She smirked and kissed my forehead.

"Otouto, don't cry." I quickly grew tired of this and slashed my sword at her ankle. "Yipe! What the heck was that for!? Wow… You really can feel pain in this game…" she said quietly. But it's gone now. It's just a bug." We quickly healed and continued to level up in the field until we reached level seven. It seemed like a big milestone for him, since it was only his first day playing.

"Phew! I'm tired…" Victoria said plopping on the floor. I looked at her and sighed.

"You're tired?" I ask her. "Wow. I feel like that void between us is gone. I can outlast you." She gave a sarcastic laugh and thumped her chest.

"I'm still the dominate sibling!" She exclaimed. I nodded and sat left her. "I'm logging of, Alex. I'l- What the…? The logout menu is missin- there it is. It's under settings." She pressed the button and waited for the GUI menu to close and her consciousness in the real world is retained, but nothing happened. "Uh…" She continued to press the button rapidly.

"Button Overload" I looked at Victoria with a curious facial expression. "Discharge Activated."

"Overid-YYYYYYE!" Sparks of electricity shot through her skull which looked very painful. The shock ended and Victoria tumbled to the floor. "Well that didn't feel good…" She said a little dazed.

"Vicky! Are you ok?" I asked kneeling beside her. She nodded and sat upwards.

"The rumors…. About Japan… Were true." She said said sadly.

"Eh? Rumors? What rumors?" I asked. I gasp and clasped my hands over my mouth.

"Let's just say it's so addictive, you can never leave… And when you do leave, you'll never feel the same ever again." Junichi was right. I mean… He's smart and all. But I never expected him to be informed about something. A loud bell rang over head.

"System Announcement." Another System message. A light flashed and we were back in the square. With everyone else. All 20,000 players. We all looked at each other was we watched the clear weather change to dark and cloudy.

"Hey! What gives!?" A boy shouted.

"I was on my way to the next town!" Another girl shouted. As the shouted, a large, red ghostly figure appeared from the sky and stared down at us.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves… But I have an announcement for you all. You may have noticed the logout button is loaded with a discharge. This is no mistake. You're all stuck here." I looked at Victoria who looked at the being without a sense of fear. Everyone else went silent, or began panicking. "Do not panic. This is a way to leave the game… The only way to leave, is if a player or group of players defeat every boss and all 100 floors, you may all leave. Until then, you will remain here until the game is terminated, or your HP bar falls to zero. Once that happens. You will not respawn. You, and your real life counterpart shall be terminated. If you, or another being try to remove the Nerve Gear, your brains will be fried with electric discharges… I suggest you take refuge in a village, or start on your quest now."

"Hey! How do we know this is true?"

"The same thing happened in the Japan server. We did a very good job concealing the chaos, so I thought it would be a great idea to try again. But in a different setting... Three thousand people died playing this game. Let's hope there aren't as many death's here."


	3. The Boss, And the Sun Blade

**Me: Oi! **  
**Kirito and Asuna: Welcome back!**  
**Me: Kirito, you seem nicer. **  
**Asuna: Forget about that now! Where have you been!?**  
**Yui: Yeah?**  
**Me: When did Yui get here? Anyways! I've been thinking, and re-watching the SAO season 1 over and over again. Picking up somethings, and I realized what a real sad anime it is... So I thought of someways to touch the heart of my readers!**  
**Kirito: Reader...  
Me: Oh, shut up! Anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Vicky, Where are we going!?" I shouted. She was dragging me roughly by my wrist again, away from The Town of Beginnings and into the field we were just in before the system announcement. She let go of my wrist and stood before me. "What's going on? What was that all about?" I already knew what was going on, but it hadn't officially registered in my head that death is possible in this game.

"Well… I guess I better spill the beans now. This game, as you know was released in 2022 in Japan." She began pacing back and fourth.

"Ok?"

"What you don't know, is that the creator, Kayaba Akihiko was the game creator. The trapped the players in the game, and did the same to them as he did to us."

"How do we know if that was Kayaba?" I asked. It was a logical question. It could have been anyone as the GM. But Kayaba was dead apparently.

"We don't. For all we know that could have been anyone!" She exclaimed. She now began to start panicking. "We should get started right away! W-we need to buy a house… A-and level up… And… And!" She fell on her knees and began crying and sobbing, without closing her eyes once. "Alex… I-i don't know what to do!" I pulled her up to her feet and hugged her tightly.

"Nee-chan… We'll be fine. I've got great reflexes… And you've played the Beta… So, we'll be ok, right?" She seemed to stop crying from there, but she was still in a panicked state of mind.

"A-alright. First things first, we should find a guild."

"I don't think anyone is thinking about forming a guild right now after what's happened." Victoria sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Right. They're going to be all freaked out… Let's go now. We'll have a level edge over everyone else…"

"Alright! Let's go right now then." I looked up and saw a dark sky. It was almost night already. I don't know if game time is the same as realife. But it sure looks realistic. I disregarded the realistic scenery for a while and turned back to Victoria. She gave me a thumbs up and smirked her usual mischievous smirk.

"Let's go!" She said happily. That's when we started our long journey to the 100th floor. No long just brother and sister, but partners. Our lives were in each other's hands.

**_2 weeks later_**

If there's anything I've learned from MMOs, it's that the first boss is usually the one that anyone could beat. Not in this game. Victoria and I heard that a whole guild attacked the boss and they all lost their lives. So we decided to see for ourselves what the boss is like. So there we were. Fighting the first floor boss by ourselves. Sure we had higher levels than anyone else (Thanks to Vicky being a beta tester) but that doesn't mean we can take a whole boss by ourselves.

"ROAOOOOR!" IIlfang the Kobold Lord roared loudly as we drew our swords.

"Don't get too close to him. He's big, but he's fast…" Vicky warned me. I nodded at her took a ready stances and we waited for the boss to make the first move. Sure enough, he roared again and charged at us. My first reaction was to dodge left, but Victoria didn't budge, so neither did I. "Now!" She shouted. Now what!? I thought. She jumped to the side and let Fang pass, so I mimicked her and jumped out of the way. "Switch!" I ran forward and swung my sword towards the large red and blue behemoth. I miss horribly, but I to regroup quickly because he was going to attack me! He swung his axe down at me, but I dodged before it could hit me. Jumped up and slashed at him again. I hit him! But it didn't really do much to his HP.

"Switch!" I jumped back and watched Victoria begin to attack him. She was fearless as she ran up to him with her sword and shield in hand. But fearlessness is what got the other one thousand killed. The Kobold charged his attack before slashing down upon the ground creating dust. Luckily, Victoria dodged before he hit her. But I was beginning to wonder if this whole game of cat and mouse was going to end with our victory. Out the dust, Victoria leapt at him at slashed his head downwards and kicking back up again with her right foot. He fell over, giving us some time for free hits. I charged forward yet again and began hacking away at his HP. The final bar dropped into the red zone. And I knew something was going to happen. With a swing up his tail, Victoria was sent crashing into a pillar, smashing it to pieces.

"Vicky!" I looked back the Kobold who was standing upright with a large silver sword held above my head. He wasn't using that the whole time… I thought. He swung down, but I blocked it. The swing had so much force, it took me down. And I lost half of my HP. In pain, I rolled over and scrambled to my feet. "Alright! Let's end this!" I took off with my sword pointed at him like I was I was jousting. One more hit! I dodged the large sword and heard it whizz past my ear. So close! I jumped forward and plunged my sword into his chest. The HP bar dropped to zero and he stopped moving. One more roar and he vanished into pixels. Falling lightly from the ceiling, I realized I forgot something. Victoria was still here. I rushed over to her and helped her to her feet.

"N-nice work…" She said quietly. Her health was way below the red zone, but just enough to keep her alive. I handed her a health potion. She nodded and drank it, restoring her health into the yellow zone. "Where's the boss drop?" she asked, sounding more like her self.

"There wasn't any…" I said. "There should be right?" I looked back where I landed and saw nothing.

"Then… The boss must be somewhere else right?" she asked. "Check your notification board." I nodded and did as told. And there it was. I let out a sigh of relief and opened it.

"The Sun's Blade." I announced. "It's a great blade. Very light apparently." I equipped it and held it in my hand. Wow, those stats were very accurate… I thought to myself as I swung it. The handle was orange, but the blade it's self was a weird shade of yellow... Like... I can't even explain it!

"Alright. Let's get out of here. I wonder how people will react to the fact another floor opened."

"Only one way to find out." I stated. I sheathed my sword and left the boss room with Victoria quietly. To our surprise, a guild was outside, waiting to enter after we were slain.

"Congratulations!" They shouted at us. We smiled weakly and thanked them. "You guys must be strong." A small girl said. The guild it's self wasn't too big. Only ten people.

"You can say that if you want..." I said humbly.

"I know this is very sudden, but do you want to go back to town with us? We're planning on go to the new floor. Why not take some experienced with us." a boy who looked to be the leader said. We accepted their offer graciously. "Ok then, let's get going back. By the way, nice sword!"

"Uh thanks..." And so, it looked as if we had a couple of friends. Though, I'm not sure if we'll stay with them for long.

* * *

**Kirito: The guild is gonna die, right?  
Me: I wasn't planning on that, but I might consider it...  
Asuna: You should have just stayed quiet, Kirito.  
Kirito: Whatever... He was gonna do it anyway.  
Me: No! I was not! Anywho! Adios!**


	4. Alex no Neko

**Me: Oi!  
Kirito, Asuna and Yui: Hey there!  
Kirito: Is this chapter going to make me cry?  
Me: I don't know. If it does, I didn't intend for it to be sad.  
Asuna: Why didn't you!  
Yui: It's not easy to make that kind of stuff.  
Me: Thank you, Yui. Anyways! Enjoy!**

* * *

I sat awkwardly in my seat as Victoria and the members of the guild were celebrating our victory… It's been two whole months since we've joined them, and if you add two more weeks to that number, you get the day we started this game. Now, we're on the sixteenth floor… None of this would be possible without Victoria. Her knowledge of the game is what got us this far… But we even weren't ready for this boss. We lost half of the guild to this boss… So I honestly could understand why we were celebrating. We lost six people, we should be mourning. Not stuffing our faces with food Sophia made. Sophia is the only girl in the guild aside from Victoria. She's small, but don't let that fool you. Under her dyed red hair is a violent, aggressive, high strung little devil. Speaking of which, where was she?

"Hey, You alright?" I jumped up and turned to whoever was talking to me. Turns out, it was Victoria. I sighed and sat back down.

"Don't scare me like that." I said bluntly. The room at the inn was pretty small. It painted a light brown color. The table we sat at was small and round. We needed a lot more money until we can get our own house. So we stayed here.

"Well sorry. I was just checking to make sure you were breathing." She snapped at me sarcastically. I ignored her and put my head on the dark round table. "Ugh. Fine, mourn over the dead, news flash! That's not going to make them come back!" Did she really just say that? I lifted my head upwards and stared at her. She stared back at me with same intensity. I felt the air in the room get cold as Victoria and I had our stare down. So I decided to warm it up a bit.

"Tyler, Samuel, Ranses, Colby, Aaron, and Erik all lost their live today, and I'm just supposed to accept that and move on? They were our guild members. Heck, Aaron and I were like brothers. Now his mind is lost with the other thousands of people who died. I really don't understand why I'm at fault for feeling sad." With that, I took my leave from the inn. I walked through the small town in rage and frustration. Other people were outside celebrating as well.

"The seventeenth floor is open!" They all cried. It only made me want to get out of there even faster. After sprinting for a while, I found myself at the edge of the town by a coast. Floor sixteen is a coastal floor full of aquatic monsters and human and fish hybrids that squealed like banshees. But I would have gladly taken my anger out on them if I saw one. Just to my luck, there weren't any. So I climbed a tree and tried to cool off. The wind helped a bit. It was calm and soothing. But every now and then, a large gust of wind would come around, to remind me that I was by an ocean. I looked beyond the trees and saw the shore. There, the human-fish hybrids were attacking a small girl with bright flaming red hair. At first I thought it was Sophia. Then I realized that was Sophia. She was over matched by the amount of monsters, her only resolution re-using sword skills over and over again. So I followed my gut and jumped in to help her. I ran through the trees and tumbled onto the sand with my sword in my hand. I Stabbed a Iwak (Fish Human Hybrid) clean through the chest, and watched it disappear in a million polymetric shapes. I looked back at Sophia, who was staring at me in disbelief. I jumped over her and cut through two more Iwaks effortlessly. After I finished the last Iwaks off, I sat on the sand next to Sophia, who was obviously upset about something.

"He-" I was cut off before I was able to say anything else.

"Go away, bastard." I sighed and placed my hand on her head. "Don't touch me." She snapped rudely. Ignored her and began to rub her head tenderly. She didn't object anymore after that. I would usually pet her when even she was tense, or feeling down. She's like my cat. But with an attitude.

"You like like being pet, don't you?" I asked playfully. I heard a few soft moans coming from her. So I guess that's a yes.

"You should really stop doing this... You're spoiling me too much." She said after a few minutes.

I petted her more slowly. "I'm just petting you. It's no big deal. If you want me to stop, I can." She didn't say anything else after that. So I assumed it was ok to continue.. Alex..." I stopped petting her in response. "Why do you think the creator did this?" I removed my her head.

"That's a good question. I think he wanted to make a point."

"Make a point?" I nodded at her.

"Why else does anyone do anything? You played this game on your own will, right? To let everyone know you wanted play. Well, It's not too different." I looked from her and at the ocean. "He wanted everyone to know, we're at his mercy." I thought my speech would have shown some light on the situation. But all it did was drive Sophia to tears. She fell on to my shoulder and began sobbing.

"I don't want to be at anyone else's mercy but my own! I want to live in the real world again! I want to leave this place..." She cried on my shoulder to the point when my arm was soaked. But I didn't mind. I wanted to cry too that day. But I didn't. Because I had Victoria to watch out for me. Who watches over Sophia?

"Sophie... Don't worry. I'll see to it that we get out of here in one piece. Though... I can't promise that everything will go back to the way it was." I guess that was enough to calm her down. She stopped crying and say back up. Her red face was covered in tears. It didn't get in her hair because it was a ponytail, and her eyes were also a bright red. I smiled lightly and began petting her again.

"Let's go back and celebrate." She said through a smile. I nodded and pulled both of us to our feet. 'Hey, Thanks." I nod again and gave a thumbs up.

"No problem!" I pat her on the back, telling her to go. She started walking off in the direction of the Inn, and I walked beside her. _Sophia…. Aaron's Younger Sister, is now alone in this world. It's my job to take care of her._

* * *

**Kirito: ...  
Asuna: That was... Ok... I guess...  
Yui: I Liked it.  
Me: Thank you again, Yui.  
Kirito: ...  
Asuna: Why is he like that?  
Me: This probably reminded him of Sachi.  
Asuna: Who's Sachi?  
Kirito: She's a girl... I use to care about very much...  
Asuna: CARED ABOUT VERY MUCH!?**  
**Me: Oh boy... Anyways! You know ze drill! Sayonara!  
Kirito: -Runs away-  
Asuna: -Chasing- THE SAME BED!?**


	5. The Grass Canopy

**Me: Oi!  
Kirito: Get out.  
Asuna and Yui: Oi!  
Yui: Is this chapter going to be good?  
Me: Probably not. It's a boss battle.  
Asuna: I hope it turns out ok!  
Me: Me too! Enjoy!**

* * *

It was from that day I began to treat Sophie as my second sister. Sophia, Victoria, and I were names well known in the SAO community. We were known as the Terrific Trio.

"Hey, Alex. Where to now?" Victoria asked me. I sighed and looked at me map. There was no trace of a boss dungeon anywhere.

"Shouldn't you know?" I asked closing the map. Victoria sighed and facepalmed.

"I only made it to the sixteenth floor. So my knowledge of the game ended five levels ago. Stop asking me!." Sophia groaned and stomped her foot in the dirt.

"So we're stuck in this jungle till we found the boss?" She asked. We looked at her and nodded. That was enough to make her bang her head roughly on a tree. I turned to Victoria and she shrugged at me. "That hurt…" she said softly as an Immortal Object sign hung next to the tree.

"No one told you to do that." I told her. "Don't come to me when your head starts hurting…"

"Hey! You three! Get back in gear! We've gotta find that boss today! Don't start thinking just because you're The Trio you can slack off!" A man shouted from a distance. I stood up and put my hand on my sword.

"Who's gonna make us!?" I shouted at him. He didn't respond after that. He just kept on walking by. "On a serious note. Lets take guesses on where the boss might be." Everyone nodded in agreement and thought._ Ok… The last boss we fought was underwater. So I have to be creative… In the trees? No… It might be underground. Or in a temple heavily guarded._ "Ok Lets share out," I said. "I think it's going to take place in the trees." I said to them. Victoria nodded and nudged Sophia.

"Oh, I think it's going to be underground." She said holding her sword handle. We both turned to Victoria and awaited her response.

"Well… I think it's gonna be right here in this forest."

"What? No dungeon? No way!" Sophia exclaimed.

"Yeah! Why would they wanna break tradition all of a sudden? Then again… Them putting that fight underwater was a bit unexpected." Victoria nodded and smirked. "So I guess it's not totally out of the question."

"Hey guys! We found the boss!" Victoria and Sophia stood up and faced me. I shrugged and ran over to the man who called us over.

"Where?" I asked. He pointed upwards at a leaf canopy. I couldn't believe my eyes at first._ My guess was correct, but how were we to get up there?_ In frustration, I kicked the tree so hard, my foot ached. But then I noticed something. Instead of an Immortal object sign, there was a HP bar.

"What is it?" Sophia asked. I drew my sword and struck the tree. Again, and again, and again until the HP dropped to zero and it vanished. "The canopy! It's falling!"

"Everyone get back!" Victoria shouted. With that, everyone retreated and hid behind the fallen trees and watched as the canopy smashed to the ground. It was silent as we all watched for something to happen. Nothing. Just a giant vine canopy smashed into the ground.

"I-i'm going to check it out." a boy my age said. He didn't look to strong, but he looked experienced. And it didn't look like anyone else was going, so no one objected.

"He's so stupid…" Sophia muttered. The boy walked to the canopy and drew his sword. We all watched for something to happen, but it remained silent.

"Every thing look go-" before the boy could finish his sentence, his leg was grabbed by thing! He fell to the ground and was pulled into the canopy made of mashed vines and grass.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed loudly while drawing my sword. We heard growling and scratching coming from inside, and the sound of agonizing screams. _That poor kid…_ I thought. Soon I as I finished that thought, he came shooting out of the mess and into a tree, face first. He fell to the ground and vanished into a sea of green polymetric shapes. The name "Kethek King" appeared in the air and a large monkey with grey fur came barreling out of the vines. Everyone turned and began to run away, not wanting to end up like the boy before us. But they had forgotten our mission. Free people from this game, no matter what. So Sophia, Victoria and I stayed behind to fight, while everyone ran off. A few others stayed, but all we need is two players to beat this one. His health was already drained from the fall. It was just above the yellow zone in the last HP bar (There were originally four). I jumped out from behind the bushes and charged at him with my sword ready to be swung. The large primate instantly saw me as a threat and tried to smash me with his large hands. But I dodged by jumping to the left.

"Alex! Look out!" I looked ahead and saw his large arm swinging towards me. I jumped over it and heard the sound of falling trees behind me. I charged my sword skill and released, sending me straight through his chest. But it only did so much to his health, which dropped into the yellow zone. My attack only angered the monkey king to point that he wanted to smash me with a tree. I sliced through the wood with my sword and lashed at his arms. I heard everyone else doing their part, but I wasn't trying to focus on them. I jumped high into the air and did one more final stab through his heart. That finished him. He laid there for a while, then disappeared in pixels of all shapes and sizes. I sighed and fell on my back in exhaustion. I didn't really do much. But I felt so tired. Contrary to my belief. The boss drop went to some random guy in knight armor. I couldn't care less about the drop. I just wanted to hear the the system announcement.

"As of March 28, 2035, the twenty-second floor has been unlocked."

* * *

**Kirito:** **You can't write action scenes can you?  
Asuna: Be nice!  
Me: He's right. I can't :P  
Yui: At least he tried? Right?  
Me: Meh... Anyways! Sayonara!**


	6. Meeting Yama

**Kirito: Yo!**  
**Me: Yo!  
Asuna and Yui: Hello!  
Me: I've got a big announcement!  
Everyone but Me: What is it!?  
Me: I'll just let the story tell it to you! Enjoy!**

* * *

_I'm now officially level 52. Took about four months, but I passed my goal. Too bad I was only on the forty-fifth floor. The front lines have hit another drought. We haven't found the boss of this floor yet. The other floors, they came rapidly. Sometimes we even had to fight two bosses in one day. But it's been three weeks of no action. And we're losing more players than we can save. Today alone, five people lost their lives. And yesterday, three died. It was only getting worse… Today we sent a group of twenty into the only dungeon we haven't checked. It's bound to be there. I just know it is. But in the off chance it isn't I might just leave the front lines and start a shop here. No… I have to be there when this world is destroyed. It just might do me some good, knowing all the pain and suffering I've watched other people go through will end. I laid on my bed as I thought of all this. But thinking wasn't enough anymore. I must find the next boss. I stood up and marched out of the Inn. I searched for Victoria and Sophia in the town full of NPCs and players. It took about five seconds before I saw them sitting together eating lunch on a bench. I rushed over to them, dodging and weaving between other players to reach them._

"Oh! You're here for lunch too?" Victoria asked. I shook my head.

"We have to find the next boss. And it has to be soon." Victoria smirked. I knew there was something she wasn't telling me. I just couldn't figure it out.

"Why the sudden interest?" She asked.

"I've always want to beat this game. It's just a matter of time before I wanted it this bad." I replied. Sophia finished her lunch and stood up.

"I know just the place to look!" She exclaimed loudly. I nodded and looked back at Victoria who was still sitting.

"But then we'd be fighting on a full stomach," She groaned. "I don't want that." I face palmed and sighed.

"We're in a game," I said into my hand. "How could you have forgotten." Victoria stood up and shrugged.

"We've been here so long, it feels like it's the real world. It's been a year, right?"

"Yeah. A years and some change," I responded. "But why would you wanna stay here? Haven't you ever wondered what's happening to us in real life?"

"Yeah, sometimes… But it only depresses me, so let's not mention it." Victoria said aggressively. I nodded and turned to Sophia.

"Let' go then."

It was dark where we were. Couldn't see an inch ahead of us. I blame Sophia for this. She lead us here, and now I think we're lost.

"Almost there." Sophia said walking a bit faster. I heard her steps get faster, so I walked faster too.

"I see a light…" Victoria said with her voice trailing off. I saw it too. It was getting closer with each step, to we all broke into a run. Everyone was starting to come into my vision again.

"Told ya!" Sophia shouted. "Let's hu- EEK!" It was silent after that. We didn't hear Sophia said a thing, nor did we see her.

"Sophie?" I whispered. "Where are you?"

"Your friend is fine." A voice said to us. I drew my sword instantly and searched for the person talking. "I did you all a favor, really." The voice sounded like one of a women. So it must have been a girl talking.

"Show your self!" Victoria shouted. "If you're a PKer, you'll have a hard time killing her off! She's feisty."

"I'm no PKer," The voice said. "I've just been in this dungeon a while. And I know it like the back of my hand. I saved your friend. Just give me a minute and I'll turn the light back on." We waited a while, but as the voice promised, the darkness was swept away. Before us stood Sophia and a… Boy? A young boy. He looked to be about ten years old. His hair was blonde and shaggy, with surprisingly neat bangs covering his forehead. His eyes were blue, as was everything else he wore. A blue short jacket cut off at the waist, and blue pants neatly covering the tops of his blue shoes.

"He-"

"Cut the crap," The kid shot at me. "What are you guys doing here? The boss is up here." _He's way older than age ten._

"Is it really?" I asked. I looked at the dark blue walls. _We were walking in a single file line all this time? These walls look so tight…_

"Yes, really. My guild was killed in there." The kid responded nonchalantly.

"Might I ask, how old are you?" Victoria asked rudely.

"I'm fourteen," The Kid responded. "The names Yama."

"Well,step aside kid, we've got a floor to beat." I said walking around him. Victoria and Sophia followed me.

"Good luck in there."We ignored the kid and walked into the a bigger room. The walls weren't blue anymore, they were a light sandy color. And in the middle, laid a giant coiled up snake.

"I hate snakes!" Sophia shouted loudly. The snake immediately opened it's eyes and unraveled. It's red scales made my skin crawl.

"Alright. There's only one way to beat with only three of us. We gotta attack from all sides. I'll take the front, Sophia, attack the left side, Vicky, the right." I said assuming my battle position.

"What about the back?" Sophia asked.

"I got it." Yama said running in with his sword in his hand. I nodded and dashed towards the snake. I read it names silently._ Kadal…_ Almost as if he heard me call it's name, it lunged at me, shoot his head at with his eyes open and fangs shaperned. I jumped over his head and ran along his back. I twirled my sword around on my fingers before stabbing him violently in the spine. I heard a loud hiss and he started writhing violently. I was knocked off immediately, but landed swiftly on my feet. "When his eyes turn red, back away!" Yama shouted. As soon as he said that, sure enough Kadal's eyes turned blood red. I retreated with Yama and Victoria, but Sophia kept on fighting.

"Sophia!" I shouted. I jumped in after her, ignoring the calls of my sister requesting me to comeback. Kadal opened his mouth widely and began spraying venom from his mouth while spinning. It was only a matter of time he reached me, so I was forced to break out my secret weapon and reveal it to everyone. I stopped running and started at Sophia. Focusing, and memorizing the area she was in. I nodded and felt immersed in the area so much, I was actually standing there. That's right. I had the ability to teleport. I grabbed Sophia by her wrist and began running counterclockwise. Which was the direction all the venom had been sprayed.

"Alex you idiot! Not toward the venom!" I tightened my grip on her wrist and leapt high into the air, the large 100 foot snake turned to me and launched his head at me again. Perfect. I grabbed on his his neck and swung myself forward, but only letting Sophia go. After I watched Victoria catch her, I swung myself on Kadals back. I pulled out my sword and began hacking at his spine. Each slash filled me with confidence and strength. So I came back with a harder slash each time. All Kadal could do was hiss and try to knock me off his back, but it was fruitless. Finally he came up with a way to attack me. He raised his back until i was stuck between the ceiling and his back, being crushed each second. I had dropped my sword, and I couldn't move. The sounds of screams filled the room now. A mixture of mine and Sophia's. With little amount of energy I had, plunged my hand into Kadals scales. He hissed one last time, and vanished in pixels. And then I remembered something. Whatever comes up, comes down. So I fell weightlessly to the ground. Losing even more HP. And… I blacked out…

_"Am I dead?"_

"No… You're just momentarily removed from the game." I stood up and looked for who ever said that. It was a normal human voice. Not distorted. A normal human voice. "Allow me to introduce my self, I am Akihiko Kayaba . The original creator of Sword Art Online." Said a man wearing a white lab coat walking out of the darkness.

_"You're that bastard who trapped us here, aren't you!?"_ I Shouted.

"Not this time. I come to you as an after image. I'm only his consciousness. I had my mind transferred into the internet, causing my death. I came with a warning. Heed me."

_"Make it quick."_

"The person you're looking for is Toshitala Sharaku. He's the one who trapped you here. The truth is, he's really a harmless person. But he had taken place in the original Sword Art Online release. So you can imagine why he would want to do this."

_"To make us feels his pain…" _Kayaba nodded and began fade away. And began I felt sounding hard hitting me...

"Alex! Wake up!" I opened my eyes to the sensation of my chest being hit by small fist. I opened my eyes and say Sophia sitting on top of my crying her eyes out.

"Sophi-" I was cut of by her collapsing on me. I felt her tears seep through my clothes.

"Shut up…" She said through tears. "What were you thinking!?" I wasn't… I thought to myself. I took my hand and placed it on her head. She lifted her head to me slowly and looked into my eyes. I began to softly pet her. "Idiot," She said finally smiling. I finally looked at my health. It honestly wasn't that low. But I guess the fact I was out scared her._ Toshitala Sharaku…_

"As of November 4, 2036, The forty-fifth Floor has been cleared."

* * *

**Kirito: So Kayaba made a cameo?  
Me: Yes! But that wasn't the announcement!  
Asuna: Alex x Sophia?  
Me: -Rings bell- Correct!  
Yui: Obvious...  
Me: Shh! Anyways! Not Alex has to try and find out Sharaku's In-game name.  
Asuna: You gave away the rest of the story...  
Me: Aha! But I didn't tell you what the name was!  
Kirito: Whatever... Not bad...  
Me: Anyways, Sayonara!**


	7. Toshitala Sharaku

**Me: Oi!  
Everyone: Oi!  
Yui: Welcome back!  
Kirito: How are you going to top that chapter?  
Me: With another one...?  
Asuna: A better one?  
Me: Haha! Not a chance! Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

_Toshitala Sharaku… The man behind all of this. I wonder what his problem is. He better have a good reason for this._ I pondered through my thoughts as the four of us made our way back to town. My hands were deep in my pockets, not as deep as I was thinking. Thinking about it now, I have heard that name before. I winced as sun light came into view. I wasn't paying attention to where we were walking. I looked down to avoid the light, and finally noticed Sophia clinging to my arm._ Is she really that scared of losing me?_

"This is where we part," Yama said saluting to us. I had only just met him, but it felt like I was losing my right arm.

Thanks, you really helped us out back there," Victoria said holding out her hand. "we'll be seeing you." Yama smiled and shook it.

"No you won't." he said. He took off from us, running through the grass, becoming smaller and smaller until he was out of sight.

"Yama… Hope he lives to see the world end," Victoria said turning off to the left. _That's it?_ I thought. Then again, what else she supposed to feel. He **is** a stranger.

"Alex…" Sophia finally said quietly. I looked down at her, acknowledging her. She looked up at me with big eyes. "Are you sure you're feeling better?" I sighed and nodded.

"Yes! You asked me so many times back there, I'm fine." I said with a fed up voice. I guess my words hurt her, because she simply looked down at the floor. "Ah, sorry…" I said softly.

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just worried, that's all. You were out for a while." I move my other arm to her head and scratch it softly.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said said reassuringly. Victoria interrupted us by grabbing me by my neck.

"What the hell is your problem!" _Can't breath…_ I was being raised off the ground by my elder sister, unable to breath. "Start talking! When did you get that skill!? How can I get it too!?" Sophia ran over to Victoria.

"Vicky! How can he speak if you're holding his throat?" She asked calmly. Great question. Thank you Sophie… I felt myself lower to the ground, and her grip loosened.

"Talk now!" she shouted. I fell on the grass and sighed. _Why be so hostile?_

"It's called "The Shadow Skill," I began. "When I first saw it, i was extremely happy. I've heard of unique skills before, but now that I've got one, the joy was indescribable. Then I read the fine print…" I froze there. _The warning…_

"And?" Victoria asked whipping out her sword. "Don't make me hurt you!" I have never felt so scared in my life, I gathered all the words I could remember, and spat them out.

"it said 'This skill is for people with dark hearts. You've been warned!'" I shouted as fast as I could. "That was the warning! I decided to keep it a secret because I didn't know how people would respond to a guy with this kind of skill." Victoria looked at me for a while then smiled warmly.

"Your story checks out! So, can you telepo-" I cut her off.

"Whoa, wait, what the hell!? You almost kill me now you want me to teleport you to town? No way!" I cross my arms and turn away, starting to walk away from them. "Walk yourselves." I thought about the nearest town. Not too different from others. Lots of small buildings, lots of people, a few inns. A normal town.

"No!" Victoria shouted jumping on my back. "Take me with you!" I could feel myself falling forward, but when fell, it was concrete that I hit my chin on, not grass. "yay!" she shouted childishly. I felt sick to my stomach. I never have tried to teleport more than one person before. My insides hurt, almost as if they were tied in knots.

"Damn you Victoria!" I shouted. "Now I feel horrible!" I pushed her away from me and looked around. "Wait a minute, where the hell is So- We left her!"

"She'll be fine," Victoria said dusting herself off. "should be worrying about the people who just saw your grand entrance." I noticed the people were looking at us. Most of them were smiling, or had blank faces. _Damn… They saw me teleport in._ I thought. "Should have thought about the people who'd be here, right Ace?" Victoria asked playfully.

I stormed back to the inn. "Shut up, let's go. Sophia will be fine." I said not turning to her.

"If you say so, captain!" she shouted up at me.

Just as I thought, Sophia gave me an ear full when she came in. I barely paid attention. I was too busy thinking about Toshitala. He's been on my mind ever since I got home. I don't know who he is, or what he looks like. But I know a name. That's a start. Names can get you somewhere. But looks can get you further. I sat on my bed hunched over with my elbow on my knee, and my hand resting on my palm. (The Thinker)_ I know nothing of him, so why am I thinking so much?_ I flopped on my back and sighed.

"Toshitala Sharaku! Where are you!?"

* * *

**Kitiro: It was kind of short...  
Asuna: Kind of is an understatement  
Yui: Agreed.  
Me: Well Sooooorry! Trying to bounce my personal life and writing stories, and trying to come up with idea for them, isn't easy as it seems.  
Kirito: Isn't the teleportation thing a bit op?  
Me: Not exactly. It has a few draw backs. The major one being that he can turn evil at any given second, and the fact he gets sick when he teleports more than one person. It helps balance it out a bit. Besides, there are many more Limitations. The amount of times he can use it, it's affect on him mentally.  
Kirito: You're talking too much!  
Asuna: I was hoping Yama would be joining them.  
Yui: Yeah, he seems pretty useful.  
Me: I could always bring him back. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Sayonara!**


End file.
